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The programme was created by writer Troy Kennedy Martin and producer Elwyn Jones, and was a deliberate attempt to create a more realistic portrayal of modern policing than had been seen on British television before. This was a conscious antidote to the BBC's established police drama, Dixon of Dock Green, which portrayed a very 'safe' and 'cosy' image of a stereotypical 'British bobby'.

The 'Z-Cars' of the title were a reference to the patrol cars the police used at the time, and the stories the series depicted would frequently revolve around the activities of the pairs of officers patrolling that particular week. Riding on the crest of a wave of changing social attitudes and a changing television era, the social realism of Z-Cars, coupled with the interesting police storylines, garnered huge popularity for the programme, although it was initially somewhat less popular with the real-life police force who disliked the sometimes unsympathetic characterisation of officers. Being set outside of London in the North of England also helped give it a distinctly regional flavour, something rarely seen on British television at the time, when most BBC dramas were made and set in the south.

The one character to stay present throughout the entire run of Z-Cars was Bert Lynch, played by James Ellis. Other actors to have leading roles in the early days of the programme were Brian Blessed, Stratford Johns and Frank Windsor , all of whom became very well-known and popular faces on British television from their roles in the series - Blessed went on to become a popular film actor also, appearing in movies such as Flash Gordon ( 19801980 is a leap year starting on Tuesday. Events January-February January 1- April 1 National steel strike in United Kingdom January 1 Changes to the Swedish Act of Succession creates Victoria of Sweden, Crown Princess over her younger brother January 5 He), Henry VHenry V is a 1989 film directed by Kenneth Branagh, and based upon the Shakespeare play. Branagh stars in the title role. Derek Jacobi, Brian Blessed, Ian Holm, Robbie Coltrane, Christian Bale, Dame Judi Dench, Paul Scofield and Emma Thompson are also fea ( 19891989 is a common year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). Events January January 7 Akihito becomes Emperor of Japan following the death of Hirohito. The Heisei period begins January 8 the Kegworth Air Disaster A British Midland Boeing 737 cra), HamletHamlet is a 1996 film version of William Shakespeare's classic play of the same name, adapted and directed by Kenneth Branagh, who also starred in the title role. Derek Jacobi and Julie Christie were King Claudius and Queen Gertrude, and Kate Winslet was ( 19961996 was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar), and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty''. Events January January 5 Hamas operative Yahya Ayyash is killed by an Israeli-planted booby-trapped cell phone Jan) and ( 1999For the album by Prince, see 1999 (album 1999 is a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar), and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the UN. Events Kosovo War Former child star Gary Coleman files for bankruptcy Y2K prep). Also appearing in 1960sCenturies: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s Years: 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 Events and trends The 1960s was a turbulent decade of change around episodes as David Graham was Colin Welland , who went on to become a scriptwriter, winning an Academy Award for Chariots of Fire in 1981, upon receipt of which he delivered the famous "the British are coming!" speech.

Z-Cars ran for 667 episodes altogether, and between March 1967 and April 1971 it ran continuously without a break, although it returned to a regular season pattern thereafter. It is also notable for being one of the very last British television dramas to be screened live on a regular basis - already a rare practice by the time the programme began in 1962. It was felt that this helped the immediacy and pace of the programme, and episodes were being transmitted live as late as 1965.

As with many British television programmes of the era, Z-Cars is sadly incomplete in the archives - the BBC regularly wiped tapes after the programmes were thought to have exceeded their usefulness, as agreements with various unions meant that they could only be shown a limited number of times. The amount of space needed to store the large videotapes of the time, as well as the expense of them when they could be re-used more cheaply, were also factors. Nevertheless, around half of the total number of episodes survive: one telerecording of the first ever episode was returned to the BBC in the 1980s by an engineer who had taken it home to preserve it because his children has always enjoyed the programme so much and he couldn't bring himself to destroy it. Other early episodes have been returned to the archives by foreign broadcasters from countries such as Cyprus.

Z-Cars had a spin-off, Softly, Softly , which itself had a long run, starting in 1966 and running until 1976. Softly, Softly focused on the plain-clothes CID officers of Newtown.

In a 2000 poll of industry professionals to find the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes of the 20th century conducted by the British Film Institute, Z-Cars was voted into 63rd place. It was also included in an alphabetical list of the Forty Greatest TV Shows published in Radio Times magazine in August 2003.

The Z-Cars theme tune, based on a traditional folk song, was adopted by fans of the football club Everton, who are based in Liverpool near to where the programme supposedly took place. To this day, the theme tune is still played as the team come out onto the pitch at the beginning of all their home matches.